Chirac to face single trial for corruption charges in March

A Paris court decided Thursday that former French President Jacques Chirac (pictured) will only face one trial in March for two separate charges of corruption dating back to his time as mayor of Paris from 1977-1995.

AP - Former French President Jacques Chirac will face only one trial after a top court decided to combine two cases of corruption in party financing into one.

A judicial official said Thursday that the Court of Cassation ordered a Paris court to hold a single trial on both cases. The official was not authorized to be publicly named because of judicial policy.

Chirac will go on trial on March 7.

In one case, the former president is charged with embezzlement and breach of trust over a phony jobs scandal at Paris City Hall during his 1977-1995 tenure as mayor. In the other case he is accused of illegal conflict of interest, also over jobs for people in the conservative party he founded.